The Paley Center for Media will focus on the achievements of women in media at its spring Paley Center Honors gala in New York. The May 17 event will include a tribute to Carol Burnett.

Among the notables set to take part in the evening at Cipriani Wall Street are Lauren Graham, Dorothy Hamill, Mariska Hargitay, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Julianna Margulies, Chrissy Metz, Tracee Ellis Ross, María Elena Salinas, and Paula Zahn.

Actress Marlo Thomas, known for her 1960s sitcom “That Girl” and the groundbreaking 1970s special “Free to Be … You and Me,” will kick off the evening with opening remarks.

“What’s so compelling about women’s roles on television is that they have reflected — and often instigated — the seismic changes that have taken place in our culture for the last half century. In the early days of TV, women were supposed to be perfect — innocent and chaste, cooperative and never angry, an ideal wife and supermom,” Thomas said. “It took warriors to break through and depict women in all their complex, imperfect splendor — over-worked and loving, accomplished and insecure while never losing sight of entertaining us — to make us laugh or cry or think. It’s been quite a journey.”

Carol Burnett has been a mainstay on TV since the 1960s, and she’s back in the hunt this year with a comedy pilot that has strong buzz at ABC.

“I will always be grateful for the opportunity to be on television as long as I have. It is a wonderful and powerful medium that, when done well, can impact millions of lives in a positive way,” Burnett said. “It’s very exciting to take part in this special evening with these amazing women.”

The thematic focus on women in media follows Paley Center Honors events in 2015 and 2016 examining the history of African-Americans and Hispanics in television.

“The Paley Center is so proud to bring together this incredible gathering of women for what promises to be a one-in-a-lifetime event.” said Paley Center president-CEO Maureen Reidy.

Sign Up for Daily Insider Newsletter

It’s tape night on the set of “Abby’s,” located behind one of the homes built on the fabled Universal Studios backlot. As the night falls and a chill sweeps in, the NBC comedy’s producers are facing the kinds of obstacles that no other multi-camera sitcom has likely ever confronted. Out come the dewdrops, crickets, helicopters, [...]

“Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke revealed that she suffered from two brain aneurysms that nearly took her life in the early years of the blockbuster HBO series. Clarke spoke about her health scare for the first time in a personal essay published in the New Yorker on Thursday morning. Just before she assumed her [...]

Comcast said it would unveil “Flex,” a hub for its Internet-only customers that allows them to stream and purchase shows and movies, the latest effort by a traditional cable provider to latch on to customers who are migrating to broadband services, The Philadelphia cable giant will also make free, ad-supported services available via the service, [...]

Fourteen-year-old skateboarding star and two-time world champ Brighton Zeuner will be the focus of a feature documentary by Imagine Documentaries and Zero Point Zero, Variety has learned exclusively. Described as a coming-of-age story, the film will document Zeuner’s childhood, personal and professional relationships, and road to earning a spot as a member of the 2020 [...]

The iconic red-caped, white-bonneted outfits worn by Elisabeth Moss and the other childbearing servants in Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale,” created by costume designer Ane Crabtree, have become that show’s signature visual. Hulu immediately knew it had a good thing, hiring groups of women around the country to parade in the garments to promote the show. [...]

Netflix global marketing chief Stephen Bruno has exited his post for MGM, where he has been named chief marketing officer. His departure follows that of Netflix CMO Kelly Bennett and marks a major shake-up for the streaming giant. Bruno had been with the streamer since 2014, and is known as an innovator. He joins MGM [...]

The pilot for the planned “Dark Tower” series adaptation currently in the works at Amazon has cast two lead roles. Sources say that Jasper Pääkkönen and Sam Strike have both been cast in the pilot, which is based on the Stephen King book series of the same name. Strike will play Roland Deschain, also known [...]